I’m not sure I could survive without my bike. From short rides along the shore of West Seattle, to epic month-long bike tours in Chile, I love to ride. Here are some photos I took along the way.

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Watch a slideshow of these and additional mountain bike & cycling tours photos HERE

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I truly want to support businesses that feed my habits, which mostly include, but are not limited to, cycling, backcountry skiing and hiking. Unfortunately for me, these are all somewhat gear-heavy sports…I like gear and that’s a problem because gear is also expensive. So most of the time I just get to drool on my keyboard as I scroll through the latest, lightest, fattest, bad-ass’est big-boy-toys on the web.

This morning I received an email from backcountry.com, which means only one thing…winter, believe it or not, is not that far off. But the email wasn’t about some semi-annual sale (which I unfortunately did stumble upon, because now my keyboard is all wet); instead it was a reminder to update my ‘online profile’. No problem, I thought, as often times profiles are great ways to get your adventure photography website noticed (Don’t tell anyone!) Backcountry.com also recommended a photograph to complement my profile. Cool, another place to add one of my ski photographs. But just as I was about to do this I read the now-infamous terms and conditions. Here is the first paragraph:

Any comments, reviews, posts, feedback, questions, answers, notes, messages, images, video, audio, materials, ideas, suggestions or other communications you submit on Backcountry.com are not private or proprietary. By submitting User Content on or through Backcountry.com, you grant Backcountry.com an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual right and license to use, copy, modify, display, archive, store, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works based upon such User Content, in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future

Basically, whatever image I use on my profile page is there for the taking. Does this mean I won’t post an image? Not necessarily…it just means whatever image I upload is going to be very small and contain a watermark. It bothers me to uncover things like this, especially for organizations that I truly want to support…

So, my photography tip of the day: read the terms and conditions if you’re posting images online and if you are posting an image, re-size it so small it would be tough to get even a 4×6 print out of it.

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It’s inevitable. Despite years of playing in the outdoors and embarking on adventure photography trips from as far as Patagonia to remote sections of coastal British Columbia, I occasionally find myself questioning my decision-making skills. Case in point: my mini bike-tour from Roslyn to Seattle the other day, a 100-mile jaunt that started on the John Wayne Trail (also known as Iron Horse State park) and finished with some winding back-roads from North Bend to Seattle.

Click the photo thumbnails below for a short tour of the John Wayne Trail
(unlike most of my photographs, these were all shot with a newly acquired Canon 850IS point & shoot camera…review coming soon)

[View with PicLens]

This should have been a relatively easy ride, which started on a compact and gravel rail trail and finished on pavement. Unfortunately I made the decision to tow my BOB trailer (carrying camera gear) with my mountain bike. Great for the first 50 miles of gravel trail, but the next half of the bike ride on pavement really sucked. A hate inefficiencies (which is why I try not to drive much) and here I was, acting out my biggest pet peeve.

Regardless of how I felt at hour 6 (which was not good) I was happy to have finally experienced part of this historic rail trail. It’s a pretty amazing outdoor recreational resource for anyone who lives in or around Seattle and central Washington (The trail runs all the way to the Columbia Gorge with plans to extend it as far as Idaho.) and the riding overall is very easy; the heat on the east side of the mountains is probably your biggest concern. Oh, and don’t forget your headlamp! If you plan on getting past Snoqualmie Pass you’ll have to pass through the very dark, damp and cold 2.3 mile-long Snoqualmie Tunnel.

NOTE: I was just listening to NPR and was happy to hear there is now a Snoqualmie Pass shuttle, provided by the Washington State Parks, that will take cyclists and hikers from North Bend up to Snoqualmie Pass. Go to http://busup90.com for more info.

If you have any questions about cycling the John Wayne Trail or a map of this section of Iron Horse State Park, please feel free to contact me at ian[at]mackieimages[dot]com

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…a ‘good’ ride has to be at least 5 hours in length!

So yes, I’m pretty much recovered from the BC Bike Race. Matter of fact, I’m beginning to get a bit antsy and looking forward to hopping back on my mountain bike. Having to use my time wisely though, I’ve decided to embark on a little cycling adventure rather than hitting up the trails.

Tomorrow I’ll leave a friend’s cabin on Cle Elum Lake for the John Wayne Trail (known also as Iron Horse State Park) which I’ll follow for 80+ miles over Snoqualmie Pass back to Seattle (total trip distance probably a hair under 100 miles to West Seattle). The rail trail, part of the old Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroads, was known as Milwaukee Road. John Wayne proclaimed that it “symbolizes for many the positive spirit of the West.” I like that. The rail was active as early as 1908 and was the last built of the transcontinental railroads.

Stay tuned for a detailed report and photographs from the trail.

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So here I am, back at the "office" for one day and already I find myself thinking back to last Monday when I was pedaling my way north from the rugged gold-rush town of Lillooet, British Columbia.  For the next 7 days I would bike, boat and bus my way through some of the most diverse and beautiful geography anywhere. Termed the Discovery Coast Circle Tour, I think it’s fair to say this could be one of the best kept secrets in North American bike touring. Full story coming soon…

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